BASED ON THE VIEW THAT OBSERVED ROBBERY PATTERNS ARE THE RESULT OF CHOICES MADE BY INDIVIDUAL OFFENDERS AND THAT THESE CHOICES CAN BE UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF THE ROBBER'S NEED TO INTIMIDATE THE VICTIM AND TO ACQUIRE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE WITH A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF EFFORT, A STRATEGIC CHOICE ANALYSIS IS DEVELOPED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ORGANIZING AN EMPIRICAL DESCRIPTION OF ROBBERY YIELDING INSIGHTS INTO THE ROLE OF GUNS IN ROBBERY. THE EMPIRICAL RESULTS OF THIS ANALYSIS ARE GENERATED BY VICTIMIZATION SURVEYS OF 26 U.S. CENTRAL CITIES CONDUCTED IN 1973-1974 BY THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU. CHARACTERISTICS OF OFFENDERS AND VICTIMS IN NONCOMMERCIAL ROBBERIES ARE EXAMINED: ROBBERS TYPICALLY WORK IN TEAMS, ARE ARMED 62 PERCENT OF THE TIME, AND ARE MALE IN 96 PERCENT OF THE REPORTED CASES; VICTIMS ARE PRESUMABLY CHOSEN BY EXPOSURE, VULNERABILITY, AND THE AMOUNT OF CASH OR OTHER PROPERTY CARRIED ON THE PERSON. TABULAR CROSS REPRESENTATIONS OF VICTIMIZATION DATA ARE PRESENTED YIELDING A COMPLEX VIEW OF THE ROBBERY PROCESS. THREE PROCESSES ARE DISCUSSED: THE SIMILARITY PATTERN -- THE TENDENCY FOR A ROBBER TO CHOOSE A VICTIM WITH SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS; THE PATTERN OF WEAPON USE AMONG ROBBERS; AND THE INTIMIDATION PATTERN. THE SCOPE OF MEDICAL AND PROPERTY LOSSES RESULTING FROM NONCOMMERCIAL ROBBERY ARE ALSO EXAMINED; EXTENSIVE TABULAR REPRESENTATIONS OF SURVEY DATA ARE PRESENTED. IN REPORTED CASES OF ROBBERY VICTIMIZATION 38 PERCENT OF ALL VICTIMS LOST NO PROPERTY, AND HALF LOST LESS THAN $10. ONLY ONE-SIXTH OF ALL VICTIMS LOST MORE THAN $100, AND A SMALL FRACTION LOST MORE THAN $1,000. A CORRELATION IS UNDERSCORED BETWEEN MEDICAL AND PROPERTY LOSSES; ROBBERIES RESULTING IN LARGE PROPERTY LOSSES ALSO TEND TO RESULT IN A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF SERIOUS INJURIES. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT ROBBERS MAKE STRATEGIC CHOICES OF VICTIMS ACCORDING TO THE ROBBER'S POTENCY IN GENERATING A CONVINCING THREAT AND OVERCOMING VICTIM RESISTANCE, AND THE PERCEIVED VULNERABILITY, AVAILABILITY AND ATTRACTIVENESS OF POTENTIAL VICTIMS. IT IS ALSO CONCLUDED THAT WHILE GUNS COULD BE USED DISPROPORTIONATELY BY OFFENDERS LACKING IN POTENCY -- YOUTHS, FEMALES, AND LONE OFFENDERS -- THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. RATHER, GUNS ENABLE OFFENDERS TO ROB MORE LUCRATIVE AND BETTER DEFENDED TARGETS. REFERENCE NOTES ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)